Stamford girl, 12, charged with bullying

Updated 7:10 pm, Wednesday, October 2, 2013

STAMFORD -- A 12-year-old girl was charged by police with disorderly conduct Tuesday for bullying one of her female classmates at a private middle school, police said.

Lt. Diedrich Hohn said the bullying became so intense that the 13-year-old victim told her parents that she was contemplating suicide because her classmate was making her feel so miserable.

The girl's arrest comes as more attention is being focused on the issue of bullying, particularly following last month's death of a Greenwich teenager who committed suicide following the first day of school after years of intense bullying.

Stamford police issued a statement Wednesday saying they would not tolerate such behavior and would take action when appropriate.

Police would not say which school the girl attends, but administrators with Stamford Public Schools said the incident does not involve one of their students.

Hohn said administrators at the unnamed middle school tried to deal with the problem, but when the bullying by the 12-year-old girl intensified, they had to call in police to put a stop to the situation.

The girl's parents called police Sept. 20, to complain about the bullying, Hohn said.

Hohn said the 12-year-old yelled at the girl and pushed the other girl while harassing her. The girl, who was only a few months younger than her classmate, was constantly upsetting the girl, Hohn said.

The girl was released into the custody of her parents, Hohn said.

Hohn said he would not get into specifics about the harassment, but warned other public school students that this conduct will not be taken lightly.

Special Investigations Officer Silas Redd headed the investigation and worked with school administrators to look into the allegations, Hohn said. Redd determined that the girl's claims were valid, and it was best to charge the girl with disorderly conduct in order to quell her behavior, Hohn said.

"This behavior will not be tolerated by Stamford police," Hohn said in a statement. "If it is brought to our attention we will vigorously investigate the allegations and make arrests when appropriate. We investigate all claims of bullying and this type of behavior will not be condoned in a learning environment."

Hohn said last week's suicide by Westhill High School junior Asia Dunmore, 16, did not appear to be the result of bullying. Hohn said investigators determined that Dunmore was well liked at school and bullying did not appear to be a factor in her death.